Whatever it Takes
by Judithan
Summary: I'm scared to lose him, but not scared enough to stop trying. Because, for the first time in -probably his entire life- he's found a friend in someone, and I won't -no, can't let him down. Not now, not ever. Implied RavioLi. IMPLIED SPOILERS!


**SPOILERS AHEAD!** It's not directly stated, but it is heavily implied, so if you're good at putting things together, then I would definitely not read this just yet!

note: I honestly have no idea what dungeon this would theoretically take place in, but just, uh, don't think about it too hard.

He's covered in blood, a wreck beyond belief, and I have to get him out of here. In all honesty, I have no idea why the idiot decided it would be a good idea to come out to this hell hole with me, but either way, he's here, and he's surrounded by a horde of moblins. My breath hitches as I see that he notices me on the catwalk overhead, and while I'd like to say he seems relieved, it's impossible to tell through that bunny cowl. Stepping as lightly as possibly over the metal grating, I make my way closer to the stairs, a smirk forming when I see that he's attempting to pull as much attention to himself as possible, to spare me some time.

With bated breath, I pull out my bow, aiming two arrows as I draw it tight. A prayer to the goddesses can be heard under my breath as I let go, and with precision and what some would call luck, both arrows lodge themselves nicely in two of the moblins craniums -one through the ear, one through an eye. The sight is gruesome, but none more so than the screeches they emit, and as the other five are preoccupied in looking around for who did that, I pull out a bomb -quickly attaching the bow to its rightful place.

While I was certain the mob would have found themselves uninterested in him, this sudden ambush seems to have only piqued their anger, as they go to approach him. A spark of fear lights in my gut as the bomb becomes live, and with all of the air in my lungs, I yell to them.

"HEY! LOOK OVER HERE!" This catches their attention, and they nearly attempt to stampede over to me, tripping over their own feet and allies. Having the vantage point on the stairs gives me the chance to brace for them, tossing the bomb down and watching as three more explode into smithereens. In the aftermath of the explosion, I'm able to drop down on the stairs and cleanly slice the remaining two moblins in half with one fell swing. The feeling of dread subsides, and is instead replaced by a shaky relief, my hands failing at first to return the Master Sword to it's sheath.

Behind me, I hear crying -soft tears and whimpering.

I assess the situation of the room, confident that all threats have been eliminated, before walking over to the idiot who's life I just saved. He's practically a sobbing mess at this point, the blood on his face running off on his scarf. As I go to sit down next to him, he simply grabs my torso, entire body convulsing.

"Are you alright, now?" I ask tentatively, testing the waters a bit. There isn't a response right away, only a continuation of tears and shaking -but eventually he manages out a choked 'yeah'. After a while, he begins to calm down, so I decide to push a bit further.

"Ravio, why did you follow me?" His body becomes tense and it's obvious to tell I struck a nerve in him. However, he doesn't stop shaking, only becomes still. I take it as an opportunity to loosen him up, pry him from my chest, and get a good look at him for once.

He doesn't say anything for a while, and instead just blubbers at me, his face looks in my general direction, but I can't tell if he's actually looking at me or not, considering his cowl. For a moment, I consider removing the damn thing, but in retrospect, I know that wouldn't have ended well for either parties.

"I-" he hiccups a bit, shallow breathes failing to provide him with enough air to speak. "I just wanted to be a Hero, like you." With that, I can see another fresh stream of tears roll down his cheeks, and all I can do to try and stop them is to wipe them away and attempt to whisper soothing words to him.

"You did fine, Ravio, but please, leave this to me. I don't want to have to worry about you, too." For a moment, he stops shaking, and I'm relieved -but that's quickly replaced by a whole new set of worries as his hands come up to pull back his cowl, revealing eyes full of tears and hair as dark as night.

I know what and who he is, now, and I can only muster up a half-hearted smile. He trusts me, so much so that he wants me to trust him.

"Mr. Hero… do you understand now?" Even through the attempts to sound brave and sure of himself, I can hear the sadness and fear.

All I can do is pull him close once more, my fingers pressed deep in his midnight locks -if we were any closer, we could possibly meld into one, but I don't think about that for too long. He's warm, and leaving stains on my tunic, but I couldn't care less either way. Regardless, I continue to hold him close, until he renewed sobbing stifles back to whimpering, until eventually, he's dry-eyed and tired.

"Mr. Hero?" He asks, tentative.

"Hmm?"

"The next time you come back to the house, do you think you can take me with you?" I smile gingerly, and bring his face from my chest- eyes meeting. The distraught expression on his face catches me a bit off guard, though.

"I know, you've got Hero business you need to do. Forget I asked." Bitter -his words are so very bitter, and cut my heart like a knife. I try to not let it get to me too much, though -he's no doubt angry at himself for any number of strange reasons that only Ravio could think of.

"Once this is all over, I'll take you on a real quest; this little journey is nothing, and I wouldn't want to bore you with something so trivial. I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy, though -because you're the real hero here, Ravio." He slips his arms around me once more, tight, and I can tell that he's so very happy, and I can feel him smile against my abdomen.

"Thank you." Is all he says, before we decide to call this dungeon quits for now and head back home. The walk is short, and the conversation is shorter. A ways back he begins limping, and I carry him on my back, having him hold onto my bow and longshot -which he happily obliges. Even though he attempts to stay awake, exhaustion takes over and before long he's a dead weight on my back, and I hurry to get him home -before I get ambushed, and before he can bleed out.

That night, he falls asleep next to me, bandaged up and trembling in fear. I hold him close, and in his sleep he whispers quietly -and I can only smile in response.

"Thank you... Link."

(x)

The shipping is more there than not, but I'm still saying it's only implied since there was no mentioning of love or smoochin.

This ship will be the death of me I swear.


End file.
